On April 17, 1897, an incident reportedly happened in Aurora, Texas. According to a newspaper report, a UFO crashed on a farm, which resulted in the death of the alien pilot. The alien was then allegedly buried in the cemetery of Aurora.
During the 19th century, there were numerous reports about strange airships flying around the world. Some reports claimed that the occupants of the aircraft identified themselves as aliens from Mars. Reports about airship sightings in the US were published in 1896 and 1897.
On April 19, 1897, S.E. Haydon wrote an article about the crash of an airship that had been flying across the country. The incident occurred on April 17, 1897, as the aircraft appeared over Aurora at around 6 a.m. According to Haydon, the craft was “much nearer to the earth than ever before.” Some of the machinery on board was out of order.
The aircraft then reportedly collided with the tower of Judge Proctor's windmill. It then exploded and scattered debris across the area.
The body of the pilot, who was believed to be the only person aboard the airship, was found. According to T.J. Weems, a local expert in astronomy, the pilot was a native of Mars. A funeral for the alien was then planned for April 20.
The documents found on the body of the pilot contained strange inscriptions. Haydon noted that the letters appeared to record the pilot's movements. The mysterious metal structure of the ship was also noted. A historical marker in the town of Aurora mentioned the incident involving the UFO pilot. It was placed outside the cemetery where the pilot was allegedly buried.
According to the legend, some of the wreckage from the crash was buried with the pilot, while others were dumped into a well underneath the windmill. The Texas Historical Commission referred to the incident as a legend in a historical marker posted outside the cemetery.
In 1979, a Time magazine article about the incident in Aurora talked about how Haydon's story was widely ridiculed during that time. Etta Pegues, an 86-year-old resident of the town, said that Haydon wrote the article as a joke to draw the public's attention to the town. She also noted that the railroad bypassed the area and that the judge never had a windmill.
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The UFO Files, a television series about the strange incidents that happened in the past, has an episode dedicated to the Aurora incident. The first episode of this series, which was entitled “Texas' Roswell,” was aired on December 19, 2005. It features an investigation conducted by Bill Case in 1973.
According to the testimony of Mary Evans, who was 15 at the time of the incident, her parents went to the crash site. She also said that she came across the alien body. Another witness, Charlie Stephens, was 10 years old in 1897 and said that he saw the approaching airship trailing smoke. He asked his father to stay with him and finish his chores, but he was told to stay and look at the wreckage. His father then went to the area the following day and saw the wreckage.
The investigation by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) started after it was discovered that the grave marker of the pilot had an image of a flying saucer on it. However, the cemetery association denied their request to exhume the body. Then, mysteriously, the marker disappeared from the cemetery, and a pipe was placed in its place. According to the organization's metal detector, the readings from the grave did not come back.
In the 2008 episode of UFO Hunters, titled “First Contact,” Tim Oates, whose family owns the property where the crash happened, helped investigators access the well that allegedly buried the wreckage of the UFO.
The investigators were not able to find significant artifacts or traces of the alien body. However, they did find the remains of a windmill base, which contradicts Pegues' claims in the Time magazine article. According to the investigators, large pieces of metal were removed from the well by the previous owner.
In an episode of MonsterTalk in 2020, Jerry Drake, a paranormal researcher, challenged the findings of UFO Hunters. He noted that the well was not designed to be used for windmill purposes. According to him, the well could have been constructed sometime after 1940.
After going through the Aurora Cemetery once more, the researchers came across an unmarked grave. Although the association denied their request to exhume the body, the researchers were still able to use ground-penetrating radar to examine the cemetery. Unfortunately, the grave is in poor condition and the radar was unable to identify the type of remains that it contained.
In 1998, a report about the incident was aired by KDFW FOX 4 in Dallas. The reporter, Richard Ray, interviewed various individuals who claimed that something strange happened in the area. However, he was not able to find conclusive evidence of alien life.
The case was featured in various other television programs, such as Ancient Aliens. In the season 3 premiere of the show, the Aurora incident was discussed.